DISAPPEARING COURAGE

Psalm 31:24

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Courage is: trusting that the Lord is in control of everything even when He asks us to do something out of the ordinary.

Courage is a quality that is sadly and rapidly disappearing in God’s people. The world today continuously tells us to be “normal”, to “follow the crowd”, and to “fit in.” Being different in how we act and how we follow the Lord’s way of doing things, is seen as shameful.

Romans 12:1,2 says "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." This is the greatest calling to courage. Not only are we to be different and stand out as God’s children, but we are stand firm on what we believe so that we can be a witness to the world by declaring God’s goodness in our lives.

Going against the flow is difficult but not impossible. The pull of the world is so strong. But the strength that the Lord can give us is stronger than anything that the devil may try to discourage us with. If we are willing to put our faith and hope in the Lord, we will be able to stand firm with the courage that the Lord provides for us.

It is up to us as Christ’s people, to bring courage back into the definition of who we are. We have nothing to fear, and the Lord of All has our backs. Not only that, but He has our entire being in His hands. There is one thing alone that can stop us… that is ourselves. We must not stand in the way of allowing God to do a huge work through us! We must not let courage disappear for good!

A MYSTERY

Matthew 24:35-36

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

I believe this passage says it plainly. The end of all things will happen, but the day and time remain a mystery!

PERFECT TIMING

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

   A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

       

       A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.

NO GREATER LOVE

John 15:12,13

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

The other day I heard someone explain the contrast between lust and love. This is how they put it:

Lust – Meeting my needs at others expense

Love – Meeting others needs at my expense

Lust is all about “me.” What can I get out of this? How will this profit me?

Love is all about the “other person.” How can I make this situation better for them? What can I do to invest in their life?

That really puts it in perspective for us. We tend to get love and lust confused with each other, as though they are the same “feeling”. But when we really think it through, we realize that they are exact opposites. Lust is what comes naturally to us as humans, but it is something that we must strive to overcome as Christ’s children.

Love is a choice. We must decide that we will love someone no matter what. Even to the point of laying our life down for the other person.  

When we start to ask ourselves what our motives are for doing certain things, we will realize how many times it is for our own gain. Christ came to be the true example of love. He gave His life for the whole world. He had no motive to get anything in return.  He did not just give His life by giving His time to others and treating them with kindness. But He actually died in their stead. He died in our stead.

He died instead of you.

There is no greater love than this!